Illinois strip club tax brings in less revenue

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois officials say a strip club tax has generated less than 40 percent of the money that was expected when the surcharge was approved.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports the "pole tax" raised about $380,000 in 2013. That's far less than the $1 million predicted when the measure passed the General Assembly in 2012.

The money is earmarked for rape crisis centers.

Strip clubs can pay a $3 tax for every customer or an annual fee ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 based on sales.

Polly Poskin is executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

She attributes the lower revenue to the fact that the requirement only applies to strip clubs that sell or allow alcohol. Chicago bans alcohol at its strip clubs.